Roasted Cauliflower, Kalamata Olives, and Tomatoes with White Beans and Penne

My mom has a wonderful tradition of "holding" cookbooks from her library for me before any one else checks them out; upon my returns to Atlanta, I am greeted with a stack of books on the nightstand : ) Over Christmas, we both got excited about Martha Shulman's Mediterranean Harvest, and today I went to Barnes and Noble to revisit some of the recipes I was so inspired by over the holidays. According to Shulman, cauliflower and olives are a classic Italian pairing...

Note: In hindsight, I think this dish will be better on quinua or cous-cous!

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower
1 pint of grape tomatoes
1 bulb of garlic
1 onion, diced
1 container pitted kalamata olives
1 15-ounce can of small white beans
thyme and marjoram
salt and pepper
olive oil
penne pasta

Begin by preparing your cauliflower -- removing the leaves, washing it, and cutting it into bite-size florettes (I may be making up this last term...). Place them, the grape tomatoes and 10-12 whole garlic cloves in a baking dish, and add the olive oil, marjoram and thyme. Stir the mixture so the cauliflower are evenly coated, and place the baking dish in the oven at 450 degrees. On the stovetop, sautee the diced onion until translucent and add the white beans and olives. If serving with pasta, you may put the pasta on at this point, as well. Be sure to stir the cauliflower mixture from time to time as you see individual florettes browning. When the cauliflower is roasted, assemble the items on your plate in whatever way you choose! Top with grated parmesan or gruyere.